Interesting website

My daughter called my attention to this website.  There are some good bird drawings on it:

http://www.flap.org/flap_home.htm

Original bird/ing t-shirts and gifts

Looking for some original bird/ing t-shirts and gifts?  I just found this website from Birdchick's blog:

http://www.magnificentfrigatebird.com/

Some good stuff here!

They also have books, supplies, and optics!

Crested Geckos make noises!

Early last night, in the dark, I heard noises from Spike and Mathilda's enclosure.  Almost like squeaking noises.  Odd!  I've thought I've heard similar noises, although for a shorter length of time and quieter, in the past but was never able to convince myself that it was actually them (or one of them).  I think that I now feel comfortable with going on record that it WAS them!  And, since the two are sharing an enclosure it may be some sort of vocalization between them, mating-wise.    I will keep my ears open!

What am I doing?

I decided that I couldn't keep up with a bird write-up per day, and also want to include entries about other things, so I have renamed this bog to 'Birds 'n Things', and have combined my 'Life & Times of 3 Cockatiels' into this blog.  I will now write about 'whatever' and 'whenever' I can.

My two geckos, Spike and Mathilda (yes, male and female, and both over a year old) seem to be hitting it off in their enclosure together.  They were copulating early last evening when I happened to glance in.  Now I've got to figure out what to do.

American Wigeon 13-Jan-10

Anas americana.  AMWI.  I almost always hear this duck before I see it.  It has a high-pitched 3-syllable, almost whinny-like sound.  American Wigeon have short bluish bills with black at the far end and a black outline on the face end.    Adult males have a white or buffy crown ("bald pate"), with a green  'swoosh'-shape behind its eye that continues on down to its body.  Otherwise the rest of its head,  is grayish which contrasts with its flanks which are warmer orange-toned.  The female and juvenile have an entirely grayish round head with a dark smudge behind its eye.  Both males and females have a whitish belly and dark gray legs, as well as a fairly pointed tail.   They are about 20" long, which makes them a bit smaller than a Mallard.

This is a winter duck for us on the west coast of North America.   Wigeons are dabbling ducks that pick aquatic plants from the surface, and like freshwater marshes, shallow pond, lakes, tidal bays, and agricultural land where they graze on short grass.  

More information can be found at http://www.allaboutbirds.com.

Bourke's Parrot 12-Jan-10

This blog post is in memory of Phoebe, my friend's Bourke's parakeet (the bird on the left in the above picture), who flew from her cage yesterday afternoon, and up over the rooftops, through the trees, and on to 'other places'.  We looked for her until it got dark and heard and saw nothing.  Phoebe was Io's mate.  Io is the male and on the right in this picture.  They had a good life together and a loving 'mom'.  Io will miss his precious Phoebe, as will my friend and I.

In the wild:  Bourke's parakeets are found in the interior of central and southern Australia, in drier inland areas.  This species has declined in C New South Wales due to overgrazing by domestic animals, but may be on the increase in the west owing to the abundance of water made possible by irrigation for agriculture.  In the wild it is nomadic; it will arrive in an area and remain there for a few years before disappearing completely. Up to a thousand birds may be seen at watering holes during dry spells. They are rapid fliers, travelling low through scrub to visit watering areas. They are quiet and shy while resting in pairs or flocks in vegetation.  They eat grass seeds and shoots of young plants.


As pets:   Bourke's parakeets are extremely gentle birds, and are quiet and affectionate.   They have a soft, pleasant voice, and are not nervous or excitable birds.  They love to fly around their aviary or room making pleasant twittering sounds.  I will miss Phoebe immensely!  Of course there is always the chance that she will be found and returned.  We can hope!

Greater White-fronted Goose 11-Jan-10

Anser albifrons.  GWFG.   This was the bird of the weekend for me, the Greater White-fronted Goose.  This picture was taken in Sunnyvale, CA at the water pollution control plant, and it shows an adult on the left and a juvenile on the right.  Its nickname is 'speckle-belly' and you can see why from the photo.

GWFG visit the central valley of California during the winter months.  These two individuals, seen Saturday in Sunnyvale, were seen outside their normal winter range with a flock of Canada Geese.  Out in the central valley yesterday, at Staten Island Road (near Walnut Grove), we saw and heard many of these geese as well as white geese (Snow and Ross's Geese), Cackling Geese ("aleutian" race), and Sandhill Cranes during the evening fly-in to the flooded fields where the birds feel safe from predators at night.  In the morning they will fly out of the flooded fields and disperse to fields where they will graze all day.

GWFG have a higher pitched 'honk' than the other geese and after listening for a while, I was able to pick their voice out of the thousands of other 'honking' geese.   Size-wise they are smaller than Canada Geese, and about the same size as Snow Geese.

The GWFG is a plentiful species, whereas its cousin, the Lesser White-fronted Goose is considered endangered.  The LWFG is found in Europe, not North America, and is smaller than the GWFG.

For more information on the GWFG please follow the link:  http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Greater_White-fronted_Goose/id

For information on the LWFG follow this link:  http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=377

Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs 8-Jan-10

Fresh in my brain from last night's birding class, today's birds are Yellowlegs - both Greater Yellowlegs and Lesser Yellowlegs.  I guess the biggest question is, how do you tell them apart?  Well, the Greater is a larger bird and has a long, slightly upturned bill while the Lesser is a smaller bird with a shorter, straight bill.  They each have a different voice as well.  Of course, they both have bright yellow legs.

Greater:  Tringa melanoleuca.  GRYE.   l. 14", ws 28",  wt 6 oz.
Lesser:  Tringa flavipes.  LEYE.   l. 10.5", ws 24",  wt. 2.8 oz.

Yellowlegs are found in shallow-water habitats where they forage actively, even running after small fish.  They bob their head and body when alarmed.

In winter we get both Greater and Lesser here on the West Coast of California, and I notice that the range map shows that the Lesser's winter range extends north on the west coast to just the SF Bay, while the Greater's winter range continues up into Canada.

Very locally, a good spot to find a Greater Yellowlegs is the western shore of Shoreline Lake in Mountain View, CA.  The first photo posted here is from that spot.  The other photo is from the corner of State & Spreckels in Alviso, CA.  I think the closest bird in this second photo may be a Lesser.

For more information:

Greater Yellowlegs:  http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Greater_Yellowlegs/id
Lesser Yellowlegs:  http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/lesser_yellowlegs/id

Sandhill Crane 7-Jan-10

Photo: Ashok Khosla

Grus canadensis.  SACR.   Every winter, in the northern central valley of California, these birds grace our skies and fallow fields with their distinctive voice and large, elegant profile.  And, just what is that bright red area behind their bill?  It is skin.  Otherwise, the bird is pale gray all over except for some rusty splotches on the wings and back.    Juvenile birds lack the bright red on the face.  In flight the neck is extended and the wings flap with an upward flick.  

During winter they are often seen in and around flocks of Tundra Swan and geese, and can be told apart in flight by their long legs which extend past their relatively short tail.  Swan and geese legs are shorter than their tails when viewing them in flight.

There is both a "Greater Sandhill" which is larger and more southern-breeding, and a "Lesser Sandhill" which breeds in the arctic.  

My favorite thing about Sandhill Cranes is their voice.  I find it very soothing and calming.

You can hear its voice as well as find out more about Sandhill Cranes by following the link:  http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/sandhill_crane/id

Cinnamon Teal 6-Jan-10

Anas cyanoptera.  CITE.  With its red eye and dark chestnut color, the male Cinnamon Teal (in breeding plumage) is quite a dapper-looking duck.   The Cinnamon Teal is a longish, small duck, 16-17 in., with an oval-shaped head, a bluish patch on its forewing (lesser and middle coverts), and its bill is long and spatually flattened.   In eclipse (non-breeding) plumage, the male retains a warm cinnamon tinge and red eye.  Females and immatures are overall brown and mottled, and are very difficult to distinguish between Blue-winged Teal.

Cinnamon Teal breed in permanent and seasonal freshwater wetlands and alkaline water bodies, preferring wetlands with emergent vegetation.  Except in California, where it stays all year, the rest of the population leaves breeding grounds in winter and move southward to Mexico.  They forage in shallow, lushly vegetated water, submerging their heads and swimming, but also picking at the surface.

I took the picture above at the Radio Road ponds in Redwood Shores, Redwood City, California, on Christmas day, 2009.   This is a wonderful place to view and photograph ducks and shorebirds up-close.  The ponds are located across the street from Shore Dogs Park.  Follow the link for directions:  http://www.shoredogs.org/location/index.php.

For more information on Cinnamon Teal please visit 'All About Birds':  http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/cinnamon_teal/id

Cedar Waxwing 5-Jan-10

Bombycilla cedrorum.  The Cedar Waxwing is named for its red, waxlike tips on the secondary flight-feathers of adult birds.   During the winter months, which is when they visit our area (Los Altos, CA), they are seen in flocks eating berries in bushes and trees.  Their diet consists mostly of sugary fruits.   They have no song, but their calls are distinctive buzzy or trilled high-pitched notes made up of rapidly repeated elements.  

In trying to come up with an explanation of just how 'perfect' this bird seems to look, I found this, "...the fact is that the entire body of Cedar Waxwing seems poured from wax.  From the sweptback rakish crest to the yellow-tipped tail, every feather on the adult seems seamlessly set in place."  (from Pete Dunne's 'Essential Field Guide Companion')

You can learn more information about the Cedar Waxwing by following the link:  http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cedar_Waxwing/id

I want to thank Renee Fitzsimons for her inspiration for today's bird!

American Goldfinch 4-Jan-10

Carduelis tristis.  Up until today we had seen just one American Goldfinch (AMGO) at Cone Welder (http://cone.berkeley.edu) in Texas.  But this morning we saw either 4 or 5 of them there.   Personally, here at my home in Los Altos, I don't get many AMGO's at my niger feeders.  However, they do seem to appear just before and after a storm, so in other words, winter time.   

AMGO are a fairly common, small (5 in. or so) bird, with a short conical bill.  During this time of year they are in non-breeding plumage, which means that both males and females look about alike, being gray-brown, with some yellow on the throat and a dark bill.  The male breeding AMGO is a bright yellow bird with a black forehead and wings, a black tail and a pale bill.  The female breeding AMGO  is a dull yellow-olive, darker above, with blackish wings and conspicuous wing bars.

A little bit about alphabetic "alpha" codes:   "Alphabetic (“alpha”) codes, abbreviations of English or scientific bird names, have long been employed by ornithologists. They allow quicker data entry than filling out the full English or scientific name of a species and they can also serve to cross-check other recorded names or numeric data. The U.S. Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL) has long used alpha codes in banding data, and these codes have become an integral part of large ornithological programs across Canada and the United States."  For more information and to get all the codes follow this link:  http://www.birdpop.org/AlphaCodes.htm.

For more information on American Goldfinches, follow the link:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/american_goldfinch/id

Bufflehead 3-Jan-10

Lea Cox and I visited Ravenswood Open Space Preserve yesterday.  It was the first visit to this preserve for the both of us.  We got there at about 1:30, just after high tide.  We walked from the parking lot at Cooley Landing to the furthest out viewing platform.  We hadn't gotten far before we started hearing gun shots which startled the WILLETs into the sky at each blast.  We didn't see too many birds on the way out -- Willet, a few CANVASBACK, SAVANNAH and SONG SPARROW, and SNOWY EGRET.  Just before reaching the furthest out platform we saw EARED GREBE and WESTERN GREBE in the water, and several NORTHERN PINTAIL flying overhead.  I then noticed a male BUFFLEHEAD flying not too far above and in front of me through my binoculars, when BANG!  two shots rang out and it fell lifeless into the pickle weed.  A small pontoon with 3 individuals in camouflage were not too far from the platform, 2 with shotguns.  They had a huge bag hanging over the side of the boat which looked like it must have been holding many, many ducks!  We were both pretty stunned at what had occurred and continued to the platform to get a better look at the hunters.  One got out of the boat, wearing waders and looked to be looking for the duck he had downed.   Lea convinced me to call to report the hunters, so I did.  I was told that duck hunting is allowed in the preserve as long as the hunters are in the water in a boat.   That seemed incredulous to us. 

Anyway, we turned around to walk back to the car.  On the way back I spotted a pair (male and female) of REDHEAD, several GODWITS, some LEAST SANDPIPERS on the wing, and a pair (male and female - one a lot larger than the other) of PEREGRINE FALCONS on the transmission towers.  We stopped to watch the falcons hunting over the marsh, as well as vocalizing to each other when they returned to their tower perches. 

When we got back to the parking lot an Open Space Ranger was there, responding to the call I had made.  He told us that there have been reports of duck hunters recently in the preserve, and that they have not been able to apprehend these individuals.  Further, he said that if the hunters shoot a duck that is within the preserve boundary it is illegal, whereas if the duck is outside the preserve boundary it is legal.  He was going to drive out and see what he could see or do.   From what I could tell, the hunters were in the park boundary, as was the Bufflehead.   It seems insane to me that duck hunting is allowed anywhere in San Francisco Bay what with there being so many people and shoreline preserves.   If anyone else goes out to Ravenswood and observes duck hunters and/or hears shotgun blasts, please report it to the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (650-691-1200).

Marsh Wren 1-Jan-10

If you've ever walked in a marshy area you've probably heard, but maybe not seen, one of these - a Marsh Wren. Very elusive! (this pic taken on 31-Dec-09 at Arrowhead Marsh in Oakland, CA.

Black Oystercatcher - 2-Jan-10

Today's bird is Black Oystercatcher. This shorebird is found on the west coast of North America. Males and females are alike; they eat mollusks, crabs, marine worms. They have a piercing, repeated whistled voice.

For more information, including a voice excerpt: follow the link: http://www.allaboutbirds.o

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